Bailout Passes

By a big margin (263-171), this time around, the House passed the bailout bill. There is still the question of if this is really going to solve the credit freeze. I saw a story I believe I CNN that there was a small thaw after the bill was passed. There wasn't enough time on Friday to get a good sense of what exactly the bill will do for the credit marker. Monday will tell the story.

Bush said after signing the bill:

"While these efforts will be effective, they will also take time to implement," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. "My administration will move as quickly as possible, but the benefits of this package will not all be felt immediately. The federal government will undertake this rescue plan at a careful and deliberate pace to ensure that your tax dollars are spent wisely."

And that may be the big problem people not being able to see any obvious results from the bailout. And if people don't see any results what type of reaction will people have. If they pull back from spending on big ticket items like say housing will the bailout money make any difference at all.

Also what has to happen according to a story in USA Today:

Wrong. Experts say the most important thing that needs to happen before the $700 billion bailout even has a chance of working: Home prices must stop falling. That would send a signal to banks that the worst has passed and it's safe to start doling out money again.

The article further points out that without some level of trust:

No trust means no lending; tight credit means it's harder to buy a home; the more difficult it is to buy or sell a home, the further home prices will fall; and the further prices drop, the more foreclosures there will be.

So the job of pushing the plan, of making people understand the bailout, making people feel like something positive has been done and will help the situation, has really only just begun.